Tsukino Beryl
by pizzigri
Summary: Queen Serenity, being somewhat of a klutz (well, Usagi must have inherited that from someone...), at the end of the Silver Millenium manages to destroy Metalia and Beryl, sealing the Shitennou and the Dark Dimension, but makes a tiny mistake. And history is changed a bit... especially regarding the memories of one Tsukino Usagi. How will this play out in the end...? Chapter 2 up
1. Chapter 1

**Tsukino Beryl**

**Rel1.1**

By Pizzigri

Author's notes.

I am just having a bit of fun with this one. Please note that I am not a native English speaker, I am Italian, and as such, I find myself comfortable in writing in present tense (which I regularly mess up… oh, well).

I really hope you enjoy the story and do not forget to… REVIEW! PLEASE!

**_Disclaimer:Sailor Moon and all charachters © copyright Naoko Takeuchi and her publisher and distributors worldwide_****_. No copyright infringement intended._**

* * *

**_break_**

All is lost.

Almost all of her guard - the Inner Senshi - fallen, her only daughter and heir, dead impaled on Endymion's blade, unable to bear the pain caused by the loss of that damned Terran Prince.

Venus lies, last of the Senshi still alive, crumpled in absolute grief and confusion over her Princess' lifeless body, unable to comprehend her extreme and last act, unable to mercifully remove Endymion's sword from the young girl's chest, not even to defend herself from the approaching horde of Youma, to prevent her own end at Kunzite's hand.

Her most trusted friend Pluto removed herself from this plane of existence minutes before the Fall, stepping aside of the timestream, sentencing herself to guard the Time Gates; the Queen is truly alone now, with no one standing at her side.

She can only watch in horror as the Alignment plays itself out, and in a terrifying Domino effect, as the magic supported environments on each planet collapse, erasing all life in the Solar System.

A mass sacrifice of billions upon billions of sentient beings, their life energy siphoned to fuel the release of the Great Evil Metalia from her prison, the Sun.

Serenity stands tall, facing the whole of Beryl's army.

The redheaded woman smirks, the twisted Shitennou at her sides, their hands and uniforms red with blood.

Beryl… once an innocent girl, naïve and kind, but carrying a taint since birth, being the fruit not of love but hate, conceived because of violence and rape. To add shame to the Queen, the child's father was a Moon Kingdom soldier, that pillaged and raped during a campaign on Earth.

Beryl… a fertile mind, easy to suggest, to delude… to transform into the perfect pawn for Evil.

Ultimate Evil, Metalia, now free.

Metalia slowly materializes above the redheaded woman, in the form of a shapeless black cloud with a pair of glowing spots, grotesquely similar to eyes.

Beryl shrieks in pain and falls to her knees, as the entity suddenly streams in her body; her skin turns a sickly shade of green and her hair grows incredibly long and turns blue, while her eyes shine a malevolent red.

Serenity feels Beryl's corrupted conscience die within her body, replaced by Metalia. The redheaded woman's very soul disintegrates, leaving behind only a lifetime of memories.

The Ginzuishou shines brightly, hovering above the Moon Queen's outstretched hands.

Beholding the Silver Crystal, Metalia pauses, but in an instant regains confidence and smiles wickedly.

"Oh Mighty Queen, I'm calling your bluff: the Crystal's power has been depleted by thousands of years of sustaining the Solar System's planetary life. It is not enough to destroy us!"

"The forces of Evil will not prevail!" With these words, the Moon Queen gathers her power. "There's no need to destroy you and yours. I will seal all of you forever in an isolated dimension!"

In an instant, Serenity unleashes a blast of immense energy. Metalia screams in terror as the light engulfs everything.

The light fades, leaving Metalia still screaming shrilly. The Demon stops, patting and checking her body, surprised to still be on the surface of the moon, unceremoniously sitting on her butt. She looks down, to Serenity's figure sprawled face down on the ground, her left foot still over the rock over which she tripped, the right leg comically raised up, her outstretched hands pointing away from the evil entity. The Shitennou and the whole Youma Army are gone, presumably sealed in a pocket dimension.

Metalia actually gulps out, "You… Tripped?"

Recovering from her momentary incredulity, Metalia stands, smoothing her very revealing dress, muttering to herself, "I can't believe the rumors on the bitches' _gaucherie_ are actually true…", and smiling horribly, raises her hand, a black fire enveloping it. "Be what it be, Serenity, you don't have any power left. Die"

Serenity, now on her knees, despairs, knowing that nothing short of a miracle could stop Metalia, and it is with wonder and joy that she feels an immense power surging within her. Well, actually, _behind_ her…

"Silence wall."

A dome of dark violet energy envelopes a very surprised Metalia, confining her in an unbreakable prison. The Demon uselessly casts immense amounts of evil energy against the translucent shield, her rage twisting her already horrible features in a grotesque mask.

The Queen of the Silver Millennium turns slowly, to see a Senshi she never, ever believed she would live to behold.

Her uniform has purple and white as dominant colors, her dark hair is short and she looks incredibly young, only a child, maybe twelve years old. But her violet eyes are deeper than Time itself, and a crackling aura of immense Power surrounds her.

Unable to speak, Serenity suddenly notices that every sound simply ceased to be, as the Child of Ruin whispers, her words clear to everyone, no matter how near or distant.

"I am Saturn, Senshi of Death, destroyer of worlds, and I have awakened to bring forth the Silence."

With a flash of purple light, a Glaive appears in her lithe hands. Serenity closes her eyes, realizing time has indeed run out. A plan forms in her mind, and knowing she has but instants before everything ends, the last Queen of the Moon holds the Ginzuishou above her heart.

Using her very own lifeforce, Serenity formulates a wish, gathering the souls of her daughter, her Senshi, the Earth Prince's and sending them forward in time, thousands upon thousands of years in the future, to be reincarnated. Her most trusted Mau advisors are already deep asleep in a capsule on Earth, where life and civilization will start anew; they will wake at the Princess' rebirth.

Her last thoughts of pity are, oddly, for Beryl, whose soul is beyond salvation and irrevocably lost, but of which a trace still lingers over the battlefield, lost and forsaken.

The Crystal flickers once more and becomes gray and dull, as the majestic figure of the Queen slowly crumples upon itself.

Without a word, Saturn steps in front of a frozen Metalia, and calmly allows her Glaive's blade to fall towards the ground at her feet, and in a deafening Silence, everything turns white.

* * *

**_break_**

_**The Dark Dimension. Present day**_

Three men, clad in grey uniforms with golden buttons, resignedly sit around a circular table, set in an expansive hall bleakly illuminated by torches, candles and a quite eerie luminescence that seems to be emitted by the distant ceiling. The hall appears to be carved out of a granite mountain, and it's so coarse that it gives the impression of a colossal cave.

A fourth man, very tall with steel grey eyes and a striking mane of silver hair that falls straight down his back, approaches the table, emerging silently from the dark.

Piercing the other men's eyes with his icy glare, the man sighs loudly and clears his throat.

"Nephrite, Jadeite, Zoicite. Damburite died a couple hours ago, by the hand of Sailor V", the tall man states.

Jadeite, a very well built man with somewhat short blond hair and intense blue eyes comments drily, leaning back against his chair. "Figures. We should have rid ourselves of him, years back. He was the only one of us that joined Beryl and Metalia of his own will, we should have never relied on him for the Agency's operation."

"We all know that we had no choice in the matter, Jade," Nephrite, a tall man with long, wavy brown hair and chestnut-brown eyes interjects.

"We had no choice _at the time_," Zoicite, the youngest, with a boyish face framed by wavy blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and soft green eyes, replies. "since he _was_ the only one that had access to a dimensional wormhole to gain access to Earth."

The tall man with silver hair unperceptively nods at Zoicite's statement, but remains silent.

"But, he had a personal agenda. His drive was lust, and he never reasoned with his mind, rather with his loins. His final goal was not finding a way to free all of us from this prison, but stick his nose up Sailor V's skirt and get inside her panties. V has an uncanny resemblance to Venus, too, don't you think so, oh Fearless Leader?" Nephrite spits out, glaring back at the tall man that spoke first.

He slowly and levelly states "Sailor V is only a pale imitation of Princess Serenity's Senshi of Venus. Although undoubtedly a former denizen of the Moon Kingdom, as her attire attests, she probably is one of the lesser Senshi, a coward that somehow managed to survive in a stranded escape capsule, and awakened to usurp and sully Her name."

"Kunzite, no one of us ever saw "V" in person. We have only Damburite's recounts, a few shaky still images and even less video tapes in which she blurrily appears for a handful of frames. We cannot estimate her actual strength, and it seem that she _did_ singlehandedly beat Damburite." Zoicite, always the analytical strategist, comments.

"Please, Zoi. If my memory serves me correctly, in the Silver Millenium Damburite was a low ranking Venusian foot soldier traitor that had as much power as I had in my pinky at the time - and Sailor V still struggled with him for over a year. I second Kunzite, V cannot be the Senshi of Venus. Besides if she really _is_ Venus, what happened to the others? Where is Jupiter, Mercury?" Jadeite heatedly debates, and somberly adds, almost as an afterthought, "where is Mars?"

Nephrite sadly leans back on his chair. "The whole point is moot, my brothers. It does not matter whether "V" is Venus or not, we are still stranded in this hellhole, and now we're unable to harvest stolen human life force to both return human and break free. Damburite failed, taking the secret to the wormhole coordinates with him and all our operations in London are thus forfeit."

Jadeite rolls his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest,. "Nephrite, Nephrite, Nephrite… even if we did break free, what would have we accomplished? Sure, with Metalia gone, we are again ourselves, at least in our minds. But our bodies aren't completely human anymore, our Prince is long dead, we each killed our lover with the most atrocious of betrayals, and thousands upon thousands of years have since passed. We have nothing outside of here. No one waiting for us, and, frankly even if the Senshi were alive, I sincerely doubt they would welcome us back with open arms."

"Shitennou. We all felt Queen Serenity perform a great spell, moments after we were sealed. She had her court, her daughter, and- and Prince Endymion, _our Prince_ - sent to the future, to be reincarnated on Earth." Kunzite pauses, before continuing.

"I felt our Prince's birth, in my dreams through Elysion. Helios managed to slip through this knowledge, and this is the true reason I awakened you all from your sleep. He is reason enough to return, he needs us. Even if it was to allow him to take our lives in revenge for our sins."

After a moment of utter and complete silence, Jadeite slowly asks, his eyes burning with ill hidden rage, "Why did you keep this knowledge from us? And why tell us this _now_, once all hope to escape has died with Damburite's death?"

Kunzite turns to the youngest Shitennou.

"Zoisite."

With a grin, the boyish General stands to announce "I have managed to trace another wormhole, that we can effectively use to create portals to Earth, that is entirely under our control. We have anew a means to harvest energy, and a possibility to escape!"

Jadeite and Nephrite both stand and shout over each other. Kunzite rises his left hand, silencing the room. Then he nods towards Nephrite. The tall General asks, with some trepidation, "Where on Earth does the wormhole lead to?"

Zoicite, his smile actually reaching his eyes for once, answers.

"Tokyo, Japan."

* * *

**_break_**

…_**Tokyo, Japan**_

Fourteen year old Usagi Tsukino runs as usual late for her Junior high school class, hugging tightly her bookcase to her bosom, her golden locks trailing behind her. People in the way of the lithe girl on the sidewalk hastily move aside, knowing well that her deceptively small frame packs a helluva punch should she accidentally collide with someone… a much more frequent event than anyone would reasonably suspect.

In her rush, Usagi fails to note a small black cat with a band aid placed on its forehead in her way, stepping on its tail and tripping over the cat's body, ruinously falling against a group of garbage cans.

Moaning and holding her hurting forehead in her hands, she takes a brief glance to the pained cat wriggling on the ground.

_Oh my God,_ Usagi panickedly thinks, _I've killed the poor thing!_

Sprawled on the ground, staring guiltily at the cat, Usagi wails desperately. The black cat shakily stands up from the ground, distressed from the girl's Banshee like cries.

Noticing that the cat is, indeed, still alive, Usagi approaches it. "Aww my goodness, kitty, I really thought I had killed you! What is that thing on your head? A band-aid?!"

Without thinking, the young girl removes the adhesive strip form the cat's head, exposing a quarter moon symbol. Usagi tenses instantly, as a spark jolts from the cat's symbol and her fingers. Mixed feelings flood her mind, both of intense hate and deep affection for the small black cat. Confused, the cat takes a long, intense glare at Usagi, then swiftly jumps away, and disappears in an alley.

Usagi shakes herself from the daze the emotional turmoil gave her.

"W-what am I doing? I'm late! Aaaargh, I'm going to get detention… again!"

Later on, her homeroom teacher, Mrs. Haruna, hands Usagi the failed results of her Math test. Way below average, the young girl cannot help feeling depressed, as her only friends and classmates, Naru and Gurio, try in their own way to console her, without much success. That is, until Naru, a cute redhead with wavy hair that Usagi considers her best friend, manages to convince the dejected young girl to visit her mom's jewelry store, the Osa-P, which is having a clearance sale. The store is overcrowded with customers, and Usagi is unable to purchase anything, despite the fact that every item in the store is priced at 90% less of retail.

Feeling even more miserable, Usagi leaves the Osa-P store and heads home. The young girl cannot help thinking about the reaction her parents will have once she hands over the test; in a fit of rage, Usagi crumples the test paper and throws it, growling, behind her. The balled up test hits the head of a very handsome young man.

"Watch it, meatball head!"

Turning on the man's exclamation, Usagi glares at his smirking face reading the test paper.

"A 30%? What are you, stupid, or incredibly lazy?"

The man removes his shades and flashes his midnight blue eyes directly in Usagi's cerulean blue pupils.

"Give that back! I… ulp."

Usagi's eyes shine with a red glow for an instant, and suddenly she falls to her knees, her mouth open.

"H-hey, are you all right…?"

In an instant, faster than the eye could follow, the blonde girl is all over the young man.

"Oh my GAWD! You're soooo- GORGEOUS! Please, let me be your girlfriend!"

"What!? Hey! Let go, take your hands off me!"

The handsome young man tries to pry Usagi's hands off his legs, only to have her glomp him and try to smother his face with kisses. He finally manages to break free from Usagi's attention, and while she falls on her rump, the man leaps away in a desperate dash, disappearing around a corner.

"My God, he's a HUNK! I never felt like this, he makes me feel all tingly inside… Wow!", Usagi exclaims with a stupid grin on her face, before somewhat recovering and pulling herself together.

Meanwhile, inside the Osa-P jewel store, Naru discovers that whom she believed to be her mother is not what she seems, turning into a monster – a Youma - as all the customers around her start falling to the floor, drained of their lifeforce energy.

The Youma channels all the stolen energy into a siphoning portal leading to the pocket dimension in which a very happy Jadeite awaits, in front of a glowing storage orb. "I can't believe it! It's working, we're finally receiving energy!"

Zoisite smiles widely, "I told you brother, we've done it! In a week we'll be able to heal our bodies and break free!"

"Jadeite. Did you instruct Morga to not permanently harm the human beings we are stealing the energy from?", Kunzite somberly asks.

"What a spoilsport. Of course I did, now relax, o Mighty Leader."

Only a block away from the Osa-P store, Usagi feels a terrifying jolt of electricity, in the same moment that the lifeforce flows through the portal. A painful tidal wave of very confusing images, sounds and feelings course within her mind, and for the second time within minutes, she's forced to her knees, but before the young girl can even try to understand what is going on, a scream of help rouses her: _Naru! She's in trouble!_ Recognizing the voice, Usagi shrugs off the pain, jumps to her feet, and heads back running towards the jewel store.

Usagi effortlessly kicks open the locked doors of the store. She finds the Youma strangling Naru, and immediately orders it to let her go.

The Youma turns her head to glare with dead black eyes at the young girl.

"And who are you?"

Usagi recognizes the Youma.

"Morga! What the hell, don't you recognize your master?"

Startled, the Youma allows an unconscious Naru to fall to the ground, and turns all her attention to the young girl.

"What? How do you know my name! It doesn't matter; my children! Rise and subdue her!"

All the drained customers awake and gingerly stand, moving like zombies.

Morga tries to attack Usagi using impossibly long arms… which impact and are stopped by a form of invisible shield in front of a quite pissed Usagi.

"Morga, you dare defy me. You dare rise your hand against your Queen! I cannot allow such insolence. Die!"

A bolt of blinding energy explodes from Usagi's outstretched hand, engulfing both the Youma and all of the controlled customers. Morga finds herself cut to ribbons. An instant later, the Youma turns to dust… and a rose embeds itself in the ground in front of Usagi.

"I am Tuxedo Mask! Warrior of love and Justice, find into yourself the strength… uh… where's the Youma?"

A very handsome young man, very appropriately wearing a tuxedo and a mask, announces grandly from a window.

The young girl looks disgusted, and states, "Roses as a weapon? Selene be damned. You can't be for real, can you?"

"I… uh…"

"Scram, before I fry your underwear, Tuxedo Creep."

"But… but…"

Usagi's hair start to eerily float around, energy crackles around her, and her eyes flash blood red. A chilling wind picks up in the store.

"Maybe I have not explained myself clearly enough."

An instant later, Tuxedo Mask conveniently vanishes, while Usagi turns her attention to the traces of the dimensional portal, still lingering in the air.

The memories that flooded her consciousness only minutes ago, all come back to her; violence, destruction, an interplanetary war. The image of a frail, crying blonde girl with her same hairstyle, impaling herself on a sword in front of her, a beautiful man clad in a blued suit of armor lying in a pool of blood at her feet, and horrible monsters surrounding them…

Darkness wraps the young girl's body, as a black void opens behind her. She allows herself to fall back, the void swallowing her.

Jadeite watches as the flow of energy suddenly stops.

"W-What happened?"

"Morga died!", Zoicite cries, while both Kunzite and Nephrite rush in the room.

"How the hell that happened? Is Sailor V in Japan!?"

"Last I checked, she's still in Great Britain… but…"

Abruptly, all four men freeze, a dark power sweeping the room, an invisible wind chilling everyone to the bone, as all the Shitennou feel a tug to their souls, a dreaded bond reforming and desperation filling their hearts.

"No… This can't be true…", Zoicite whispers, clenching his jaw, a lone tear falling from his left eye.

"Beryl."

As one, they beeline out of the room, heading silently towards the Throne Hall of the Dark Kingdom.

Entering in a place sealed and abandoned for millennia, they find a blonde girl with her hair tied in a twin Odango style ponytail falling down her back, and clad in what looks like a ball style long dress in black occupying a grisly and tall throne standing in the very center of the huge hall.

"My Generals, bow before your Queen."

Her eyes glowing an evil red, the girl elegantly rises and starts gracefully walking down the stairs, as the Shitennou fall down to a knee and bow their heads in fear.

"You will noaaaAAAAHH!" Her deep voice turns to a squeal as her foot trips into the helm of her long gown, and she crumples down in an impossible tangle of legs and arms awkwardly rolling over the last three steps.

The Shitennou watch in morbid fascination the display of utter clumsiness.

The young girl who claimed to be the terrifying Queen Beryl now sits wailing on the floor, her eyes turned the most beautiful cerulean blue, tears streaking her face, her lower lip trembling and her expression the cutest pout ever seen, looking with worry at her leg:

"Waaahhh! I scraped my knee!"

* * *

**_break_**

Uh, well. let me know what you think of it. Kudos to the totally idiotic fan fiction dot net automagicalformatting, which now removes any attempt to insert spaces to pause reading. Which in turn forces poor guys like me to insert ridiculous things like a "**_break_**"to space things a bit!


	2. Chapter 2

**Tsukino Beryl**

**Rel1.1**

By Pizzigri

Author's notes.

I am just having a bit of fun with this one. As it is obvious that this is set in some form of alternate universe, I will be liberally taking whatever I need from both manga and anime.

I really hope you enjoy the story and do not forget to… REVIEW! PLEASE!

_**Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all characters © copyright Naoko Takeuchi and her publisher and distributors worldwide. No copyright infringement intended.**_

* * *

…

Half hour has passed since Usagi's summoning to her Throne Room. The young girl that claims to be Beryl, following her display of utter clumsiness, uncannily pulled herself together and had reaffirmed her absolute rule over the Shitennou and the Dark Kingdom, and reveled in her Generals' display of hopeless submission.

Usagi also had the whole Youma Army bow in utter fear to her.

Shortly afterwards, satisfied of herself, Usagi disappeared in a black vortex.

…

Once again, four Shitennou resignedly sit around a circular table, set in an expansive hall bleakly illuminated by torches, candles and a quite eerie luminescence that seems to be emitted by the distant ceiling.

"Ok. What now?", Nephrite miserably speaks, breaking the deafening silence.

"We're screwed, that's what", Jadeite just as miserably replies.

Zoisite abjectedly weeps with his face hidden in his hands, "We're never going to be free. We're going to pay for our sins for Eternity. We're never - "

"Enough, Zoisite."

Kunzite's strong voice interrupts the youngest Shitennou's ramblings.

"Not all is lost. I'm sure, my Brothers, that we all agree on the fact that the current Queen Beryl does not even remotely resemble the Beryl of old. And, although the bond and leash has been reinstated, I cannot feel the Dark Evil filling my Soul, filling _our_ Souls, again."

"But, I'm sure we also agree that this Beryl is a reincarnation. Not necessarily she's supposed to physically resemble her previous self", Jadeite comments. "Plus, we cannot assume that the Dark Evil will not get us again later on."

"If that's the case, Kunzite, do you think we may still have a shot at her? Before she rapes our minds again, I mean", Nephrite suggests, "while we're still… ourselves, and not her mindless slaves, I mean."

Kunzite slowly shakes his head.

"In Her presence, we are but blind kittens, powerless to even touch her. Did you not feel the power, the Grip, she has on our Souls, while in the Throne Room? No, we do not have that chance… and I _know_. I tried."

"She did not kill you for it?"

"Jadeite, I do not think She even _noticed_."

Zoisite continues to abjectedly to weep with his face hidden in his hands, "We're never going to be free. We're going to pay for our sins for Eternity. We're never - "

"Zoi. Just shut up!"

"Yes, Zoisite. We need your analytical mind, now. We must find a weakness, if not for ourselves, to protect our Liege and Earth. With Beryl's appearance, I'm afraid our goals have significantly shifted, my friends." As usual, Kunzite's words calmly resound in the room without any hint of emotion.

"Come on, Zoi! Pull yourself together", Jadeite adds. "I suggest we do a break and get something to drink to calm our nerves."

Ten minutes later, the four Shitennou again sit at the Round Table, with Zoisite visibly more in control. Zoisite remains silent for most of the meeting, listening to each fact and information that the other three Shitennou discuss, filing each useful bit of evidence and connecting logically and scientifically the data in his mind. Then, the youngest Shitennou wills a panel of glass to appear midair in front of him; other artifacts, including a glowing crystal sphere, levitate around him. Zoisite interacts with the magical computer's interfaces while the discussion progresses.

Another hour later, silence falls over the group.

Kunzite nods his head to Zoisite, which clears his throat and wills all his artifacts to disappear.

"Ah... B-Brothers, I've drawn some conclusions. First and foremost, I believe that we can safely rule out the most dangerous threat: Metalia. I found no trace of the Demon's activity nor of her evil signature, neither on Earth or in the dimensional rifts, and from my analysis of Beryl's power, it is not based upon Metalia's chaotic Dark Evil energy; quite the opposite, in fact. Beryl uses a type of energy which is surprisingly pure, that bends to her will, but is totally impervious to my attempts at analyzing its source. M-my calculations indicate her energy to be at a level on a par to what Beryl's power was at the end of the Silver Millennium, but, since we know that the power she exhibited then was really a reflection of Metalia, we should ask ourselves where the present day Beryl got this power from."

Jadeite nods approvingly. "If we found her energy source, we could attempt to shut it down."

"Dealing with a powerless Beryl should be a piece of cake."

"If Beryl is involved, Nephrite, _nothing_ is ever a piece of cake. Must I remind you how she ensnared you?"

Kunzite intervenes: "Although I feel that finding out Beryl's energy source must be considered a priority, we must also take into account that this same source may not be accessible to us… much like Metalia was."

Zoisite continues his analysis.

"Second point, still very positive: although Beryl reinstated the Bond, we still retain our mind, our personality and memories. I'm also reasonably sure that we will maintain our present state, due to the nature of Beryl's power."

"This is of paramount importance. And allows us much freedom in our movements", Kunzite comments.

"So what do we do?"

"I say, find her weaknesses. We could start trying to find out from under which stone this Beryl just spewed out."

Jadeite stands to walk a few steps around the table. "Maybe we should concentrate on her appearance. If I remember correctly, Beryl's sporting the Lunarian Royal hairstyle."

"I noticed that too. It cannot be a coincidence", Zoisite comments gloomily, "but, still, She is one hundred percent Beryl. The little I've been able to observe of her psychological profile, power levels and capabilities, and her goals, whoever that woman is or was, now she's totally aligned to what we remember of her. Never mind she's wearing' the body of a fourteen year old school girl."

"Not 100%, Zoi. Never did Beryl klutz out like that!", Nephrite remarks, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

"But, that could be due to her mind's not being used to the balance, reflexes and physical performance of a teen body"

"I do not think so, Zoisite. Nephrite has a point; that is more a psychosomatic trait. We all saw Beryl's reaction to her… slip. She's just a child, and provided the appropriate _stimuli_ is applied, she easily relapses into the mental patterns of a child. Although redundant and obvious, I need each of you to be extremely focused and careful around our… Queen. Watch out for any hint or detail which can allow us to have an advantage; maybe her _gaucherie_ may lead to a vulnerability we could exploit. Now, my Brothers, we better use this time to rest and meditate."

…

Usagi lies in her bed, wide awake. It's half past midnight, and she can't fall asleep, the events of the past eight hours weighing heavily on her soul and mind. A whirlwind of contrasting emotions, thoughts and memories blow like a tornado within her conscience.

Awakening to Beryl's memories, punishing Morga for her unforgivable insolence_. No, that's not true! I attacked Morga to protect Naru… didn't I?_ She mentally amends, trying to find a justification for her behavior.

Discovering and taking possession of the Dark Kingdom, subduing and bonding the Shitennou once again to herself, and imposing her rule upon the remains of the Great Youma Army.

Finding out Metalia is gone. Her first reaction was of disappointment. Not even an instant later, a sense of absolute relief, ecstasy and joy replaced that disappointment.

Returning home, to face someone she feels can be fiercer and more intimidating than Metalia, especially when she handed over the failed test… and promptly being grounded for the following weekend.

Going to bed.

_I'm Tsukino Usagi… I'm 14 and in eighth grade. I'm only a little clumsy and a bit of a crybaby… but that's not all. I'm gentle, and caring. I hate injustices. I'm happy-go-lucky carefree, love my friends, love having fun, and love to eat sweets._

_My greatest dream is to find true love and be a beautiful bride._

_But now, I find out I'm really Beryl. The Queen of the Dark Kingdom. I'm The Bad Guy. I'm supposed to be evil, hateful, cruel and bloodthirsty. And I was! I remember… things… I remember… Genocide. Oh My God. It really happened. My God!_

Usagi lies in her bed, sobbing hard in her pillow, crying herself to sleep.

But she finds neither rest nor peace, as horrible nightmares of gratuitous bloodshed and unmentionable cruelty haunt her.

Much later, Usagi's visions and phantoms of the past are too much for her troubled sleep.

A bloodcurdling scream pierces the night.

Usagi's Mom, Ikuko, jumps out of bed and runs to storm in her daughter's room.

She gently embraces her sobbing and confused child.

"What's the matter, Bunny?"

"Mommy! Oh, Mommy, I'm evil!"

Ikuko listens patiently to her sobbing daughter's description of her nightmares, all the while whispering sweet nothings to her, until Usagi calms down and falls asleep again.

Ikuko slides between the sheets yawning a few minutes later.

Kenji, her husband and Usagi's father, asks her wife what was the matter with their daughter.

"Well, Dearest, to put it mildly, Usagi has some _wild_ nightmares. Dreamed about being Queen of Evil or something and committing genocide to a level of brutality that would put the Jewish Holocaust in Nazi Germany seem more like kindergarten children quarreling over a cookie. She gave me such creeps that I'm not so sure I'll manage to sleep myself. But, I'm not at all surprised. Hear me well, Tsukino Kenji: if you ever, _ever_ again bring home that diabolical Western Hot Pepperoni and Salami Pizza with anchovies and mayonnaise leftovers from your Boss' late meetings for dinner, passing them for 'take out', may the Gods be my witness, I'm filing a divorce."

Mr. Tsukino cringes guiltily, moaning heartfelt apologies, not feeling very well with his stomach himself.

…

The following morning, Usagi wakes up with the rising sun. She actually enters the bathroom before her alarm clock has a chance to buzz. In front of the mirror, Usagi washes her face with cold water, trying to wash away the tears and tension. Looking at her reflection, the young girl notices the tiredness so obvious in her features.

_This is the face of a mass murder. The face of_ _The Bad Guy._

Usagi shrugs her shoulders.

_Oh well… nobody's perfect. Wonder what Mom put in my Bento, today._

With practiced ease, she brushes her hair and makes up her twin bun hairstyle. Her newfound memories tell her that the Moon Royals had their hair done that way, the hated Moon Royals! Like that spoiled and perky Moon Brat, the heir to Queen Serenity. _Strange, _the young girl ponders. _I'm actually the spitting image of the Moon Princess._

Putting down the hairbrush, Usagi fantasizes. _By the Goddess Selene… how I'd wanted to be the Moon Princess, instead of a poor street child. It's not fair. She was born to have it all. And I… I…_

She lowers her gaze to the sink. She actually tries to twist closed the faucet, before realizing that the drops falling in the sink are her own tears.

Usagi grits her teeth and straightens up. _But now, she's dead. Long since turned to ashes, while I'm still around! So… The Princess is dead… long Live the Queen!_

A cruel smirk on her lips, Usagi turns her back to the mirror and returns to her room to dress.

A long day at school awaits her. Mrs. Haruna surely will give out extra homework, to make up for her poor grade in yesterday's test. And maybe, even detention…

…

In the afternoon, returning from school, Usagi stops in front of a dark alley and furtively walks in. She backs against the dusky brick wall in the rear and a black shadow grows ominously behind her. Then she closes her eyes and falls in the void.

An instant later, Beryl appears in the middle of her throne room, in a pillar of black fire, wearing a very revealing black dress.

Her gown reaches just below her knee, and she wears mid-heeled Go-go Boots.

"To hell with that full length traitorous ball gown and Stiletto shoes." she comments to herself, "they're just too dangerous on a throne!"

Setting her jaw and straightening up, she summons her Generals.

"Shitennou! Your Queen commands your presence."

All four Generals calmly enter the huge hall, and bow before Usagi. None of the men make eye contact, and keep their gaze to her feet.

Kunzite speaks up.

"At your command, my Queen."

"My Shitennou. As we all know, Metalia's is no more. This changes a bit our plans, but not our ultimate goal. Earth will be ours once again! We must prepare for the invasion, therefore we will still need lifeforce energy, to fuel the interdimensional portals and power our Youma Army. Jadeite, you will be in charge of lifeforce harvesting from now on. Do not disappoint me."

"Yes, my Queen. As you command", Jadeite replies, his voice colorless and barely above a whisper.

"Kunzite, Nephrite and Zoisite, I want you to find a powerful artifact, that the late Moon Bitch wielded and which spelled our defeat in the Silver Millenium: the Ginzuishou. I want it! Such a powerful artifact cannot have disappeared, and it must still be on Earth. Bring it to me, whatever the cost!"

The four men bow as one.

"Yes, my Queen."

"Dismissed."

Slowly, the proud Generals turn on their heels and calmly walk away from the throne.

"Zoisite, you stay."

A shiver shoots down the back of the youngest Shitennou, that freezes on the spot. Before reluctantly turning back towards Usagi, he desperately flashes his gaze at his fellow generals. The haunted look in his eyes is a farewell. They will never see each other again. The three Shitennou wordlessly exit the room, and the heavy doors slam shut, their booming thunder sealing Zoisite's fate.

The young General kneels, trying to hide his fear, before a frowning Usagi.

"My Queen, I am yours."

_I'm going to die. I'm never going to see Earth, my Liege, or Mercury again. I'm going to die… _

Usagi stands up, very _very_ carefully descending the nine steps of her throne's staircase and approaching the General. A moment later, she circles walking slowly around him, carefully watching the young General and again stands in front of him.

"Zoisite. I think… I remember you being quite smart, hmmm?"

"I, uh, my Queen, yes. I pride myself to be very intelligent.", the young Shitennou replies keeping his eyes to the floor, a drop of sweat running down his neck.

"Good!" she squeals, offering the young man the books and papers she was keeping hidden behind her back, "I need you to do my homework. I want it finished within the hour, OK?"

…

That evening, Emirates flight EK318 from Dubai lands at twenty past five PM at Narita International Airport. The night before, a beautiful and very young Video celebrity, with blue eyes and long blonde hair tied in the back with a red bow, connected with flight EK16 from London.

Despite the secrecy with which she booked the flight, hundreds of her fans were present to say their good byes in London.

Waiting for her luggage to turn out of the carousel, with a Samsonite Pink trolley and a white cat dozing inside a pet kennel at her side, the blonde beauty sighs contently but tiredly, a bit groggy from the 24 hour flight. Aino Minako finally returns home.

* * *

…

Short, I know. Either this, or you wait ages for an update…hehe.


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